One of the indices used for quantitatively evaluating the tendency of a substance to release or receive electrons is the oxidization reduction potential (ORP). A substance having a higher ORP is more likely to oxidize other substances, while a substance having a lower ORP is more likely to reduce other substances. The intermediate value of the ORP is considered to be +200 mV. Water whose ORP is lower than this middle value is called the “reduction water”. Since living organisms are normally in a reduced state, reduction water presents less of a burden on living organisms. For this reason, reduction water has been used as healthy drinking water as well as in various other forms, such as bath agents, lotions and external skin agents (see Patent Literatures 1-4).
For example, reduction water is produced by placing an amount of water in a container with an anode and cathode arranged in it, and passing electric current through the water with the potential between the anode and cathode maintained below +200 mV. In another method, an amount of water is poured into a container with a catalyst placed in it, and electric current is similarly passed to make hydrogen generated from the catalyst, whereby reduction water (hydrogen reduction water) is produced (Patent Literature 5).
However, any of these methods requires time to produce a sufficient amount of reduction water. Furthermore, the produced reduction water must be immediately used, because it is difficult to maintain hydrogen for a long period of time in a dissolved form in the water.
In view of these problems, a powdery reduction treatment agent, called the “reduction powder”, has been provided (Patent Literature 6). Reduction powder is principally made from metal that easily generates hydrogen (zinc, iron, magnesium, copper and/or potassium), with the additional constituents of calcium, sodium, molybdenum, vanadium, nickel, manganese, selenium, cobalt, lithium, phosphorus and chromium. Adding reduction powder to tap water or a water-containing substance changes the target substance into a reduced state within a short period of time. Furthermore, reduction powder can be stored for a long period of time.